


Ten Minutes

by Sphylor



Category: Just Roll With It (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Ob is such a dick, Torture, smiling through the pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24269452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sphylor/pseuds/Sphylor
Summary: Ob pays Br'aad a little visit and proposes a game.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 68





	Ten Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably bad writing but idk I wrote this over the span of 2 weeks cus procrastination is a bitch. Enjoy!

Ears ringing, he just about managed to pull himself upright. The explosion had knocked everyone in the party off of their feet. Br’aad sat there for a moment, waiting for his vision to focus. 

Dust hung in the air, illuminated by the flickering torches that lined the walls. He let out a long sigh of pain, causing it to swirl and dance before him. His whole body ached from the force of the impact and his head pounded. Rubbing his temples, he wished that the ringing in his ears would go away. But as he sat there, the ringing turned into the ticking of a clock.

Why? Why now? It had been weeks since he had last had a run-in with his previous god. Br’aad had been happy living without the fear of sudden ticking. He had been happy getting along without the destructive magic that came with the pact he had made over a year ago. He had been happy to finally make his brother proud.

He watched as the dust in front of him ceased to move. Looking around, he saw the unconscious bodies of all of his friends. Looming over sylnan’s body stood his old patron, Ob’nockshai, a thoughtful frown on his face. The torch light reflected off of his monocle, causing its surface to appear white. He held his hands behind his back as he looked down on the shape lying at his feet.

“Such a shame. The younger half-elf racing through the maze of sewers holding the corpse of his older brother, the only family that he has left,” the diety’s cold voice echoed through the cave, “and even after I pull that little trick to help you find your way out, you still decide turn your back on me for that story teller fellow.”

Br’aad was forced into a vivid flashback to that day; the endless tunnels, the constant dripping of water, the slick feel of the blood on his hands. Shaking these memories off, he stood up and made his way slowly over to the trickster god, who continued to stare down on the brown-haired half-elf. 

“If it wasn’t for you then Sylnan wouldn’t have died in the first place,” Stopping a few feet away from Ob’nockshai, Br’aad clenched his fists in anger. “If it wasn’t for you then we wouldn’t have had to walk through those hellish tunnels to bring him back. Haven’t you played enough games? Haven’t you caused enough hurt?” The last words were spat out with venom but the man in front of him merely chuckled

“Oh, my dear boy, the games have only just begun.” he finally looked up, a malicious grin spread across his face. 

“I’m not just gonna sit here and play chess again-”

“We have played a lot of chess together, haven’t we… Then how about a new game,” 

Both men turned to look at the body of Sylnan. There was a nasty cut on his left cheek. Nothing that Velrisa wouldn’t be able to fix, but still deep enough to make Br’aad squirm a bit. The deity glanced back over to see the half-elf’s discomfort and clicked his tongue.

“Come now, my boy, no need to look like that. Why don’t you smile more, ey?”

Br’aad looked up at Ob’nockshai in utter disbelief. He couldn’t seriously be suggesting that he smile as he stood over his brother’s motionless body?

“Still no smile? Well then how about I add some incentive. Lets see if you can hold a smile for the next ten minutes. That shouldn’t be so difficult, especially for you. If you stop for even the smallest moment, however, your brother may just make another visit to his pathetic girlfriend.”

He held out a gloved hand.

“And if I refuse?” Br’aad asked, staring into Ob’nockshai’s eyes with resentment.

Ob stared back into Br’aad’s, the sinister smile on his face unfaltering.

“Well, lets just say that your dear brother might be making the trip sooner than expected.” 

The knot in Br’aad’s stomach tightened. He felt like he was going to be sick. His whole body began to shake with fear as he realised what he had to do. Br’aad extended a trembling hand and the two men shook and thus the pact was sealed. As soon as the handshake was over, however, Ob’nockshai vanished, leaving only Br’aad and the rest of the party in the cavern. He quickly forced a smile onto his face before it was too late. 

Kneeling down at Sylnan’s side, Br’aad watched as his brother’s eyes slowly began to open.

“Wh- what happened?” Sylnan asked groggily

“I uhhhh may have been playing with the wand of wonder again,” 

Rubbing his face with his hands he groaned “Why did Vel think that giving that back to you was a good idea” 

Br’aad helped Sylnan to his feet and they both dusted themselves off. 

Slowly but surely, they helped the rest of the party to their feet. Velrisa promptly took Br’aad’s wand and attended to any injuries; Mountain and Taxi got into a small argument over which tunnel to take next; and Sylnan kept lookout for any beasts that decided that they wanted a snack.

While this was all happening, Br’aad could feel a discomfort in his bones. They ached and caused him to tense up a bit. So this was Ob’nockshai’s trick. This was how he was going to try and catch Br’aad out. It started small at first but he could feel the pain slowly growing.

“Is everyone alright now?” Velrisa asked, looking round at the group.

“Yup! All good over here!” Br’aad replied, a little too enthusiastically perhaps.

“Ok then I say we continue on.” and she walked straight past the dwarf and the tabaxi, who were currently in a heated argument.

As they carried on walking, Sylnan shot Br’aad a questioning glance. He knew that Br’aad wasn’t always completely honest about his injuries and he wanted to make sure that he wasn’t hiding anything. Br’aad just smiled back. He wanted to tell Sylnan what was wrong but he knew what would happen if he did and so he toughed it out.

After each minute passed, Br’aad heard a singular ticking of a clock and with each tick came more discomfort. His whole body ached and he was beginning to find it increasingly difficult to put one foot in front of another. The smile stayed firmly put, however, even if there were tears starting to fall down his face due to the pain.

“Br’aad are you sure you’re ok?” Sylnan asked, a look of deep concern on his face.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t i be?” Br’aad turned to look away from his brother, ashamed of himself for crying.

He had heard 6 ticks now. Being over half-way through brought him little relief from the pain he was experiencing, however. Br’aad just wanted it to be over already. Choosing to focus on each step, he tried to ignore the pain that was now causing his breathing to become sharp and uneven.

“Br’aad you are obviously not ok!” Sylnan countered.

“I’m fine, Sylnan,” but as he said this his knees buckled beneath him and he fell on to all fours.

“Vel,” his brother called “Velrisa!”

Velrisa had also this and in a matter of seconds they were both kneeling at Br’aad’s side. Despite the broad smile on his face, he was clearly in a great deal of pain.

“Velrisa what is it? What’s wrong with him?” Sylnan could feel his heart beating against his rib cage violently. Not Br’aad.

“I- I can’t find anything wrong with him,” her voice was filled with confusion. Br’aad was doubled over on the floor yet she could not feel anything that could be causing this level of agony.

“Well can’t you just try a spell or something?” his tone was desperate. He couldn’t lose his brother like this.

“Velrisa PLEASE!” Sylnan grabbed her by the shoulders, the urgency to help Br’aad completely engulfing him. He felt a strong pair of hands pull him away from the tiefling.

“Hey take it easy,” Mountain easily managed to pull him away, even as Sylnan struggled against his grip. 

“Don’t you fucking tell me to take it easy, Mountain! That isn’t your brother dying on the ground over there!” he continued to kick and fight against the dwarf, who merely stood there, a solemn look on his scarred face. Hilltree hid behind his legs.

Br’aad had heard two more ticks in the space of him being on the floor of the tunnel. He only had to deal with this for another two minutes.

Velrisa looked shaken up; she wanted to heal Br’aad, she really did, but none of her magic was working.

“Why can’t you use your magic on him?” Taxi asked, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“I’m not sure. It-it's like there’s some kind of mental block. I’m trying my hardest but it's just not getting through to him,”

Br’aad didn’t blame her for not being able to help. It wasn’t her fault.

“So what do we do now?” the tabaxi questioned.

Br’aad heard another tick.

“I- I don’t know there’s not much I really can do,” Vel replied, her words coming out shakily.

Taxi nodded his head in understanding.

The smile on Br’aad’s face had remained. He was going to win.

“VELRISA PLEASE DO SOMETHING!” Sylnan screamed.

Hearing the agony in his brother’s voice hurt more than anything Br’aad had felt so far. He let out a small gasp of pain, his smile finally breaking.

“Always a pleasure to play with you,” Ob’nockshai whispered malevolently into his mind.

The strain was lifted immediately and, as Br’aad looked up, he saw Sylnan’s pale face. It was graced with an expression of mild surprise. A trickle of blood ran down from the corner of his mouth.

  
  
  


Br’aad had lost.


End file.
